Building the Cavs rotation means going two by two

Building the Cavs rotation 2×2: The Old Wolves

With the core pairs in place, who will fill out around them? Obviously, injuries and other absences will lead to tinkering, but we’re trying to craft the base rotation here. Let’s look at the pairing of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley. Who should play with them? Ideally, it would involve a second shooter and someone who can defend guards well.

That sounds like the Old Wolves on the team; that is, the two veterans who used to play together on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love are a dangerous combination, especially on offense where Love’s shooting opens space for Rubio to thread passes to open shooters and cutters.

Together Rubio and Love can provide versatility on defense for cross-matching. Rubio can take the tougher guard assignment, while Love and Mobley can cross-match with Mobley taking on the toughest big. Mitchell and Love are liabilities on defense, but that’s why they would play with the team’s best point guard and forward defenders.

Last season Rubio and Love shared the court for 429 minutes in 26 games. In that time all lineups with both players on the court had an 11.9 net rating — that is, they outscored opponents by an average of 11.9 points per 100 possessions. That was the third-highest output on the entire team. Interestingly enough, Rubio pairings made up the entire top-5; he was that impactful last season, and hopefully can be just as valuable this time around.